Posted: 3/16/2004 6:43:10 PM EDT
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What's the difference between getting my gun finished in Bright Chrome or Brushed Chrome? Any thoughts? tim |
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Chrome plating takes to pot metal (cheap guns) and resembles ornamental chome, sometimes refered to as "bumper chrome". Then you have nickel plating, found on older higher end guns, where copper is first plated to get the nickel to "stick". It can be found brushed, bead blasted or polished, depending on the finish of the metal it is applied to. Stainless has pretty much replaced nickel with less polluting by-products and a more enduring finish. Electroless nickel, to me, is the nicest for a "classic" look. Hard chrome is a rock hard silver finish, mostly used in industry to coat high wear metal surfaces...you can ruin a file trying to scratch it. Very durable but if applied too thick, or the fitted areas are not masked off, reassembling the gun is very difficult and time consuming. Whichever you choose, make sure they "know" guns to avoid potential problems. |
| Brushed or satin hard chrome looks very much like a bead blasted stainless finish. Bright hard chrome looks like a mirror, or a bumper on an older car (back when they were chromed). Bright is highly reflective; brushed or satin is a dull silver/grey color. I could send you a pic of a satin hard chromed gun, but I don't have anything with a bright finish. Let me know an e-mail address if you want a pic. |
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I had my Beretta 92FS hard chromed and the results are pretty good. The finish itself is flawless, though now I am more careful about lubing it properly. The hard chrome finish is tougher than nails and damn near impossible to scratch. If you want to have a gun refinished in chrome, then send it to Accurate Plating and Weaponry. They did a bang up job on my Beretta and their customer service was top notch. They also don't cost a bloody fortune... |